Through the Nexus
by mayemerald9
Summary: Only a few weeks after defeating the Light, the team wakes up in another world with no knowledge of how they arrived. With no idea where to go or how to get back home, they insert themselves into the narrative and chaos ensues. Rated T for language... This story was written for t-rex989!
1. Chapter 1

Dick didn't know where he was.

He'd woken up in his civilian clothes, distinctly ruffled and with his sunglasses askew. The light poured down through the leaves above him, agitating him into consciousness. He was in a forest with no specific identifiable features. His holo-glove couldn't give him the coordinates, and there was no signal so he couldn't send a message to Batman, or anyone else for that matter.

Was this like in Bialya? Had somebody wiped his memory? One look at his glove told him that there had been no great passage of time. There were only a few hours of darkness in his memory.

What had happened?

He stood up and tried to think, pacing back and forth without realizing it.

He remembered being in the Cave. The team had been watching a movie, a celebratory calm after their recent victories. He had been sitting next to Zatanna, their hands barely touching.

Something funny had happened on screen and several people laughed, and then Dick found himself waking up in the middle of the woods.

He shook his head and allowed his training to kick in, analyzing his surroundings once again. He needed to go downhill or find a river to follow, something to help him make his way out of the forest and back to civilization. He collected himself, making sure that there was nothing he was leaving behind, and then started walking downhill.

...

The river was easy enough to find, and the resort that spanned across it was even more so. The buildings were beautiful stone structures built on a wooden platform and suspended above the water, all lined with cherry blossom trees. He knew it was a resort when he saw the various relaxing activities, like people lounging in hot springs or getting massages.

Everyone was wearing loose, solidly colored robes in shades of pink and red, and most of the people had their hair done up in topknots. Dick didn't see a single person with blonde hair, though that might have been because of his position; he was hiding on top of one of the buildings, looking down at the resort from a less than convenient angle.

He'd been scoping the place out for a little under an hour, finding himself in what was at one point a locked office in hopes of digging up some information. Unfortunately he was no closer to figuring where the hell he was.

There weren't any maps or any other documents that would help him find his way home. Everything was written in Chinese, all of the people had Asian features, the clothes were elegant hybrids of different Asian cultural clothing, and the houses were built to look almost Japanese, but the people in the resort were speaking perfect English?

Dick had no idea what was going on.

He was torn from the confusing information by the sound of voices, people coming towards the office. He rushed to put the papers back in to some semblance of order before he silently jumped out the window, hiding just around the corner outside.

"We will need to prepare the finest lodgings for our new guests and get them fed and watered immediately, goodness only knows how they managed to survive on that raft for so long..." an old woman cooed. Dick heard the ruffling of the papers and more concerned conversation.

Everything they said was in perfect American English, but somehow Dick couldn't understand any of it. Someone had found a stranded prince, and he was now getting the royal treatment?

Where on earth was he that was made up of predominantly English-speaking Asian people, who were all living under a monarchy?

None of it made any sense.

...

Robin's case notes: It's been three days since I got here and the questions just keep piling up.

Wherever I am, it's not Earth. For one thing, in this place people with powers are considered normal, they're even the majority. I've seen a bunch of civilians making fire from their hands for both leisurely and practical purposes. The technology isn't as advanced as back home, but people have found their way around a lot of things with their abilities, or 'bending.'

Apparently there's also a war going on, but the people I've been watching seem pretty confident that their side is winning. I'm not sure what to make of any of it, but hopefully I'll get home before getting involved.

I've set up a temporary base in one of the empty cabins and borrowed some robes in order to blend in; I tried foraging for food, but the plants are all unfamiliar and I'm not sure what's edible and what isn't. The resort has a dining area though, and nobody questions when I grab a bite and then come back to the cabin. I'll hav—

Dick was interrupted from his writing by a slow knock on the door. He tugged his holo-glove off and threw it out of sight before approaching; who had noticed him?

It wasn't a staff member, thankfully, but a round old man with a calm smile on his face.

"Good evening, young man," he said, giving a small bow. Dick returned the gesture. "Are your parents here? I would like to invite you all to dinner; the owner of the resort– a very lovely woman– had a special meal prepared, and it would be a shame not so share it with someone." The younger swallowed, choosing his words carefully.

"They're not here right now, they went to take a walk by the beach? Or maybe in the woods... They just wanted some time alone, I think, sorry..." He rubbed one of his eyes, trying to look tired. The old man hummed thoughtfully, closing his eyes for a moment.

"Well I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you ate without them," he said, his smile becoming more jovial. "Come, come! They will have no trouble finding you later, you shouldn't be alone on a lovely night like this!"

Dick searched the old man's face, thinking of all of the things that could go wrong... And overall, the benefits outnumbered the consequences.

He was walking down towards the main building and listening as the man— Iroh, apparently— talked about random things, while Dick nodded and hummed at appropriate intervals. If anything, he might learn more about where he was... Well, more than he would have learned holed up in some cabin.

...

Iroh was more important than he let on. Staff members and guests alike would bow deeply when they saw him, giving him only the best things; he got the best seat at the head of the long dining table; he got only the most finely prepared food, ten times the quality of what they normally served; he told everyone about his cabin, which was a convenient distance from all desirable locations, including the forest, the cliffside stairs that led to the beach, and the resort itself. Dick was at least fairly certain that this was due to his position, whatever it may have been. Everyone referred to him as General Iroh, but Dick thought he must have been more than that to garner such respect.

He had been invited to sit to Iroh's left and was helping himself to a healthy serving of roast duck. Iroh himself was regaling the rest of the guests with tales from his home, in particular trying to get a reaction from the boy sitting to his right.

The boy sitting opposite of Dick had immediately caught his attention. The staff treated him with the same respect as they did Iroh, but it was much more hesitant. It seemed for good reason; the boy was the textbook definition of a moody teenager, snapping at anyone who approached him and refusing to participate in any of the stories, instead choosing to brood as far away from the crowd as Iroh would allow.

He would learn later in the evening that the young man was called Zuko and that he was Iroh's nephew, and the prince of one of their world's major powers.

"He has been through quite a lot in his life," the older man told him as they walked back to their respective cabins. "But things are beginning to improve, and that is all I can hope for."

The first thing Dick had noticed about Prince Zuko— and probably the first thing that most people noticed— was the scar that spanned across his left eye, stretching back to his ear in a distinct flame-like shape. Dick avoided looking at is as much as he could; he didn't want to be on the moody prince's radar.

...

The boy was unusual, to say the least, and he most definitely wasn't telling the whole truth. But Iroh knew he had no ill intentions, and continued to humor him.

...

Apparently spending large amounts of time with Iroh put Dick on the prince's radar. Dick noticed Zuko watching them more and more as he talked to Iroh, always from a distance and always turning away quickly when he was caught.

Dick only spent more time with Iroh for two reasons; firstly, he was very generous with information, always willing to tell a story; secondly, he was a very interesting man.

They had been in Iroh's cabin drinking tea and playing a game with carved tiles that the older man had shown him, when Iroh finally confronted him.

"Your parents are not really with you, are they?" Iroh asked, the serene smile never leaving his face. Dick froze.

"Wha– of, of course they're here! What are you even saying?!" He'd been caught off guard, and the damage had already been done. Iroh didn't look up, he only hummed thoughtfully and took another drink of his tea.

"Pardon my weariness, Dick, my sleep was disturbed last night. Did you notice the thunder as well?" He had. It was especially strange because the sky had been clear, and there was no other indication of foul weather. Dick had simply written it off as heat lightning, or some other natural phenomena that was unique to this new planet.

He nodded. Iroh suddenly looked very grim.

"Hmm... I fear that we, are no longer safe here." Perfect timing, thunder rolled outside their window. Both men looked up at the sky, worry lining their faces.

...

The source of Iroh's concern became very apparent later that afternoon.

Iroh had asked for Dick's company down by the beach, and together they combed the shore for sea shells while the older man recounted an old story about dragons. Zuko had begrudgingly attended, refusing to collect shells but listening to his uncle's yarn nonetheless. They had been out for no more than fifteen minutes when Iroh invited Dick back for lunch, giving Zuko a pointed look as he said that "a meal is always better when shared with friends." Zuko just grunted.

"Look at these magnificent shells!" he said, pouring them out of his bag and picking up a particularly pretty one. "I'll enjoy these keepsakes for years to come."

Dick followed Zuko inside, eyes skirting around the cabin; a force of habit, but certainly a useful one. He instantly noticed the figure sitting in the darkened corner, and he made to reach for the utility belt he'd hidden under his robes. The stranger must have noticed his face as well, because they stiffened and rose from their seat. If Iroh saw any of the exchange, he pretended not to.

"We don't need any more useless things," Zuko hissed, finally losing his patience. "You forget, we have to carry everything ourselves now."

"Hello, Brother. Uncle."


	2. Chapter 2

Azula had unsettled Dick to the point of paranoia.

Her intentions appeared innocent enough; she delivered a message about family, about Zuko's father wanting him back home, and Zuko had very clearly believed her.

Dick, of course, was not supposed to know any of this. He had offered to return to his cabin when the princess made a condescending statement about the peasantry; instead he had elected to eavesdrop through one of the windows. He supposed that he should have kept out of it, but Azula was truly and simply unsettling, unnerving to the point of having Dick up in the dead of night and secretly guarding Iroh's cabin. He was hidden in the trees, keeping watch in case of a surprise assassination or some other gruesome something. Luckily for the young hero, the night was peaceful.

He of course had no idea why the princess would want either of them, or what she was even planning to do if they came... He began to think, making plans as he scanned his surroundings for the umpteenth time, guessing about Azula and her resources; she was a princess so she had resources. He decided that in the morning he would find her base, try to infiltrate it

"We're going home, after three long years! It's unbelievable!" Zuko cried, interrupting Dick's musings.

"It is unbelievable," Iroh replied, much more quietly. "I have never known my brother to regret anything."

"Did you listen to Azula? Father's realized how important family is to him. He cares about me!"

"I care about you!" the older man shouted. "And if Ozai wants you back, well, it may not be for the reasons you imagine."

"You don't know how my father feels about me. You don't know anything!" Dick caught himself scowling, listening a little too intently, and forced himself to focus on other things. But it didn't tune out everything.

"Zuko..." Iroh said something to quiet to hear.

"I think you're exactly what you seem: a lazy, mistrustful, shallow old man who's always been jealous of his brother!" Things were silent after that. Dick's heart was in his stomach; he shouldn't have heard any of that.

He kept his eyes on the edge of the woods, the beach, the path, anything and everything around the little cabin. He wouldn't leave until morning.

...

Dick would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy doing the ninja thing again. After a quick nap at sunrise he'd changed into his original civilian clothes, packed the rest of his things into a (stolen) rucksack, and taken off to Azula's base.

Infiltrating the ship– made entirely of a dark metal with a pagoda styled tower rising from the deck, and flame-like embellishments all across the surface– was an entirely new adventure. The interior hallways were lit only by dim candles, which made it the perfect environment for blending into the shadows, sneaking around, and wrecking things. And that's exactly what he did.

He spent hours in the depths of the ship, stealing important looking scrolls and tampering with the bits of machinery he understood; armor mysteriously found its way into the ocean, pipes exploded in the boiler room, the captain's quarters had filled up with smoke... Similar calamities plagued Azula's morning. She looked absolutely livid as she screamed at all of the crew members, who had been gathered on the deck.

Dick watched this from a window in the tower, splitting his attention between the crew below him and the scroll he was trying to translate. He knew a decent amount of Mandarin Chinese, but with the added distractions forcing him to rush he wasn't doing a very thorough job.

Azula must have finished ranting, he noticed, because the soldiers had begun to disperse. Some went back into the depths of the ship, while the rest lined up on either side of the dock. They were waiting, waiting for Iroh and Zuko so that they could trap them, for... some reason. Dick rolled up the scroll and put it in his hoodie pocket with the rest he had taken before running down to the deck to hide in the shadow of the pagoda. Something was going to happen soon, he knew it, and he was going to be there to help.

...

Zuko stared over the edge of the cliff at the shore, basking in the moment. He was going home.

The sea was calm, the waves gently lapping at the shore, the breeze light against his face and hair; everything was content. For the first time in a long time, Zuko was content. He turned away for the picturesque view, making his way down the other thousand stairs carved into the mountain.

"Wait!" A familiar voice called out from behind him, and Zuko had to stop. Was it really..? "Don't leave without me!" Zuko smiled, he couldn't believe it!

"Uncle, you've changed your mind," he choked. He couldn't believe it, it was almost too good to be true! His uncle was wearing his traditional armor, a large sack over his shoulder. Iroh stood in front of his nephew as put a hand on his shoulder.

"Family sticks together, right?" Zuko smiled a genuine smile; he was just so, so happy! They turned to look out at the ship once more, Zuko needing to take the whole thing in all over again.

"We're finally going home."

...

It was ominous, watching them walk between the lines of soldiers. Dick went unseen as he watched Iroh and Zuko bow; his focus locked on Azula when she addressed them from the top of the ramp to the ship.

"Brother, Uncle!" she called out, overemphasizing her enthusiasm. "I'm so glad you decided to come." The soldiers fell into lines behind the two, and the ship's captain stepped forward.

"Are we ready to depart, Your Highness?"

"Set our course for home, Captain." Azula was an amazing actor, Dick would admit, but he still had the feeling that everything was horribly wrong.

"You heard the princess!" The captain shouted, waving his hand out with extra bravado. Raise the anchors, we're taking the prisoners ho-" He looked horror struck, shaking as he stared up at Azula.

"Your Highness, I..."

All hell broke loose.

Iroh was the first to strike, knocking the closest guard off into the ocean and immediately being swarmed by three more. Dick moved on his cue and threw a smoke bomb across the deck; the most he could hope to do with Azula right now was distract her. She wasn't his concern right now. He ran through the smoke cover and vaulted over the side of the ship, landing on the narrow ramp. Iroh was unperturbed.

"What are you doing here?" he shouted, blocking an oncoming guard and tossing them into the ocean. Dick jumped over Iroh's shoulders and launched into one of the soldiers. More ran at him, but he kicked them off the ramp almost effortlessly.

"I don't like Azula!" he called back shortly.

Together they were making quick work of the attackers, fighting their way down the ramp and onto the stone dock. Iroh had a man trapped in his arms; Dick was weaving between three different soldiers, knocking them down before they could get their bearings.

"Zuko! Let's go!" Iroh cried up at the ship. Dick hadn't even noticed Zuko leave. He could hear him fighting, though, somewhere in the smoke. Iroh shoved his captive over the edge of the dock and gave Dick a stern look. "Stay here!" he ordered.

While Iroh ran back up to the ship, Dick finished off the last few attackers. Just as he kicked the last man into the sea, a bolt of lightning erupted from the ship, hitting the cliff face and causing it to crumble. Zuko and Iroh came running down the ramp and Dick followed their lead and ran, quickly grabbing his rucksack from where he'd stashed it in the bushes. Iroh took him by the wrist as they passed, pulling him off into the wilderness.

...

Dick wasn't entirely sure how welcome he was with the two firebenders; they'd been running for at least half an hour, Dick following behind Iroh the entire time. No one had complained about him yet.

But even if they'd brought him along, he recognized a private moment when he saw one. While Zuko and Iroh kneeled on the riverbank, Dick hid beneath the shade of the trees and kept an eye out for any pursuers. It was a somber affair.

When the two finally stood up they wore grim expressions, and their hair had been cut off. They started talking softly, but loud enough that Dick could have eavesdropped if he'd really wanted to. He didn't; their business was their business. That said, Dick wasn't sure he wanted to come out yet; Zuko looked about ready to burn down the forest.

He thought about scouting around and getting some bearing of his surroundings, but his brief plans were interrupted by Iroh calling for him. Dick decided that it was better to face Zuko's rage than for Azula to find them via Iroh's shouting, and he walked out towards the riverbank.

Zuko had not expected a young to come out of the woods. He especially hadn't thought that the kid who had been following them around for the past few days would have followed them out into the forest; admittedly, he was t having the best day and wasn't being as observant as he probably should have been. He was caught off guard by Dick's sudden appearance and lunged out at the kid with a restrained fire blast and a strangled shout.

Dick dropped to his knees and rolled out of the way of the flames, landing in a low crouch. Zuko made to attack again, but Iroh stepped between them, grabbing his nephew by the wrists before he had another chance.

"We do not have time for this!" Iroh scolded, releasing Zuko's wrist with a huff. "Did you not see him helping us escape Azula?" Zuko was silently fuming, trying his best not to snap at them. He didn't trust Dick, and Dick wholeheartedly understood that. "We cannot stay here for long," Iroh warned, giving them both a pointed look. Dick nodded, and Zuko glowered.

The agreement went unspoken; he would go with them until it became more convenient to do otherwise—or until he found his teammates, whichever came first.

As the group made their way through the wilderness Dick became occupied with making survival plans, and then contingencies for those plans, and then contingencies for his contingencies, trying to cover every base of this unknown territory.

The gravity of the situation finally sunk in, and it nearly floored him; he didn't know what was going on. He was in uncharted territory, no real understanding of this world or its people, no way to get home, or to even verify if his friends had come with him.

A heavy weight settled in Dick's stomach and he had to reign in the urge to puke. He wasn't prepared for this. He wasn't ready for this. And he was scared.


	3. Chapter 3

If Chom– Chong, Shang, whatever the hell the guy's name was– if he started up one more stupid love song, Artemis swore that she would break all of his fingers. She had to put up with the constant strumming of the guitar– she knew it wasn't really a guitar, but she couldn't have cared less– but she absolutely refused to sit through another serenade.

The worst part, she thought, was that Megan was actually enjoying it.

Artemis, Megan, and Raquel had woken up in the middle of nowhere exactly 18 days ago. They spent six days wandering aimlessly, surviving off of what Artemis could shoot with her crossbow and trying to find some semblance of civilization. On that _oh so fateful_ sixth day, Megan had been able to sense several strangers nearby, and was delighted when they just _happened_ upon each other. After a good meal and some faked backstory, Chong– the apparent leader of the strange group– insisted that they travel together.

"Hey!" he'd droned, "We're heading up near Omashu! We could just drop you off there, unless you decide to become nomads with us along the way!" Artemis decided to just roll with it.

The air-headed travelers actually made surprisingly good guides. They managed to get from point A to point B and they didn't let the lost girls starve. It had been almost pleasant at first, although Artemis wasn't quite ready to let her guard down. She and Raquel seemed to be on the same page in that regard, but Megan was having the time of her life. The singing, the dancing, the happy-go-lucky flower-picking hippies that were Chong, Lily, and Moku, they were exactly Megan's speed.

Chong, Artemis found, was simpleminded and easygoing; his companions were of a similar ilk, though slightly more aware than their noble leader. They were nomadic, wandering wherever the wind would take them, making music for their food and otherwise having no worries.

While Megan was excitedly learning how to braid hair and play the flute, they were wonder struck– and strangely unquestioning– when her hair would spontaneously change colors, and if Megan happened to get too excited and start floating, they were somehow completely oblivious.

Moku– a portly young man with a smile on his face and a flower in his hat–would ask Raquel at least twice a day if she was a waterbender and to show them her waterbending; despite her vigorous claims that she had no idea what the hell he was talking about and that she wasn't going to show him anything, he would just forget and ask again later.

Artemis didn't even want to think about all of the questions she'd received about her hair; apparently blonde hair wasn't common wherever they were, or really any color aside from black.

Megan would often switch between her usual red hair and black, just to see how she looked, and to "blend in." She seemed to know a lot about the trends of wherever they were, such as the clothing styles, the names of cities and important figures, and all of the flora and fauna, which were distinctly different from back home. When confronted, she said she almost couldn't help it.

"I'm not _trying_ to read their minds, I swear!" She waved her hands around frantically, only to pause with a guilty look. "It's just, they make it so easy… Their minds are so open, it's almost as if they're projecting at me? I'm sorry!" Artemis didn't berate her; she was honestly grateful, as she was willing to take any information they could get.

After seeing the native plants and animals– generally hybrids of animals that she would have seen on Earth, like the turtleduck and something called the platypus bear– Artemis decided that they had to be on some other planet. The others were hesitant to believe her, to say the least, but once she pointed out that even the stars were different from any that you could see on Earth, they seemed to accept it.

They'd been on the road to Omashu, wherever that was, for twelve days. It had been nearly two weeks with the band of merry fools, and Artemis was ready to shoot someone. She and Raquel were once again on the same page; they were tired, they were annoyed, and they had no clue what the hell was going on. The musical nomads had saved them from being lost in the woods, sure, but there was only so much that Artemis could take.

She was reaching her breaking point.

"Hey, my strangely dressed friends!" Chong called from the front of the party. "Jimoto and Kia were wondering if you'd wanna dance with them? Cause, uh, this next song is a real doozy."

"You've already asked us this," Raquel complained, holding her face in her hand. "And we've already told you NO." Chong just shrugged.

"Eh, suit yourself." The telltale strumming floated back to them as they walked, and the rest of the nomads were quick to pick it up; Moku started to tap a steady beat on his drums, Lily improvised harmonies on her wooden flute, and Jimoto and Kia started a twirling dance that Artemis quite frankly didn't find appealing.

"Is this another love song?" she asked, giving Chong a dark look. She knew that no matter how angry she got, if Chong wanting to sing a love song then he was going to sing a damn love song, but that didn't mean she wasn't willing to scare him within an inch of his life for doing so. The man himself was actually lucid enough to understand the mistake he'd made, but he didn't feel any guilt about it.

"Ah, a love song? No, no," he stalled, his fingers almost slipping, "it's, uh, it's more of a ballad!" He started singing random syllables along with the melody, probably to deter her from questioning him more. Artemis relented, and made her way back behind Raquel.

"Don't fall in love with a traveling girl, she'll leave you broke and broken-hearted," he sang. Of all of the songs he'd sung while they'd traveled together this particular one was more pleasing to the ear, Artemis had to admit. She was almost alarmed when the music came to an abrupt halt.

"Hey-hey, river people!" Chong cried out. The nomads fanned out from behind him and into the clearing, all of them trying to see who he was talking to.

There were three "river people," two boys and one girl. One of the boys was floating on a leaf-boat, his dark hair draped over his eyes and some furry animal lying on his chest. At the sight of the strangers he flailed wildly and fell into the water.

The girl was thin with long brown hair pulled back in a braid, and she bore a striking resemblance to the boat boy. Artemis could tell that she was strong, her muscles more apparent than her companions; she'd been trained in _something_ , but Artemis didn't know what.

The other boy was bald, tattooed, and the palest of the three; he was also surrounded by a globe of water in the shape of an octopus, which fell around him when he saw the nomads. All three of them were stripped down to their underwear– or was it just swimwear? Artemis wasn't sure.

"We're not river people," the girl said lamely, interrupting Artemis's musings.

"You're not? Well, then what kind of people are you?" Chong asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Just... people."

"Aren't we all, brother. Hoo!"

Artemis looked over at Megan and nodded sharply; they needed to discuss some things. She felt the telltale tingling sensation of the mind link being set up and then winced at the oncoming shouts.

" _Does anyone want to explain to me what the hell I just saw? Cause that boy was an octopus, I swear to God!_ " Raquel ranted.

" _Is he one of the waterbenders that Moku keeps talking about?_ " Megan was straining to look over the dancers' shoulders, trying to get a better look at the new strangers.

" _It seems like it,_ " Artemis replied. She put a hand on Megan's shoulder to keep her on the ground. " _But does that mean these kinds of powers are common here?_ " Raquel crossed her arms and tilted her chin towards the nomads.

" _They must be, I mean, look at them. They're all acting like this is normal._ "

" _I wouldn't call something normal just because Chong thinks it is. Whatever happens we need–_ " Artemis stopped mid-thought and openly gaped at the people in front of her.

Chong was staring and pointing at one of the strangers, who was trying to cover his junk with a lemur. Her confusion was almost tangible; some things were just too strange to comprehend.

* * *

Iroh had been sitting crouched in front of the flower for almost ten minutes, and Dick was starting to get worried. He could see the cogs working away in the old man's brain, trying to overcome the great moral conflict that was tea; tea, or poison? Tea, poison?

Dick had been climbing in the higher parts of the trees, the places where the other two couldn't follow without the branches snapping. He'd been trying to scavenge for any nuts or berries that could be hidden in the leaves, but so far he'd only found a handful of green acorn-looking things that may or may not have been edible.

He dropped down at the sound of Zuko trudging through the brush. The prince was shouting again, the usual spiel about hating the wilderness and being unable to live like a peasant; they'd been living off of the land for over a week, and Dick had heard it all before.

"Uncle... What are you doing?" Zuko sounded absolutely exasperated, and Dick had to hold back a cackle. Iroh was still crouched next to the flower, mesmerized; it was a pretty thing with white and red petals, and just the one blossom. Dick didn't understand what was so special about it, but then again, he didn't know anything about the plants of this world.

"You're looking at the rare White Dragon bush. It's leaves make a tea so delicious, it's heartbreaking!" he sighed, clasping his hands together. "That, or it's the White Jade bush, which is poisonous."

"We need food, not tea," Zuko snapped. "I'm going fishing." He disappeared through the trees once again, heading to the nearby stream. Iroh was unfazed.

"Hmm... Delectable tea? Or deadly poison..." he mumbled, eyes narrowing further at the perplexing flower. Dick quickly went over his options, before deciding to sit down next to the older man.

"Hey, Iroh?" The man in question turned to look at him. "You said the White Jade is poisonous... I don't know much about plants, but wouldn't there be a way to see if it was toxic without actually drinking it?" he asked. Iroh looked thoughtful.

"If this really is the White Jade, touching the petals would leave an inflamed rash," he said. Dick didn't hesitate, immediately plucking off one of the petals and rubbing it in small circles on the back of his arm.

"If there's no rash by the time it gets dark you can make it into tea," he explained before dropping the petal. "I'm going to help Zuko catch some fish. Are you alright by yourself?" Iroh gave him an odd look. He wasn't disappointed or frustrated; he looked like he was analyzing the younger boy.

"Ah, yes, I think I am. But, would you mind if I accompanied you?" Dick shook his head, and Iroh smiled.

* * *

Aang was at least eighty percent sure that Megan was an airbender.

He and the nomads had been sharing stories for a while, leaning up against Appa and playing music and other passive things. It was nice, he thought, smiling at the sight of his friends relaxing.

Katara was next to him, having flowers braided into her hair by Lily, while Chong was on his other side. Aang wasn't sure where Sokka was, but he guessed he was somewhere a safe distance away where he could keep an eye on the travelers.

While the stories of crystal caves and enchanted hot springs were exciting, Aang was by far most interested in the three girls sitting off to the side; there was one girl with short hair that stuck up like a boy's, wearing a blue robe that was a little too big for her; it was probably borrowed from Chong. She'd never introduced herself, but Aang made a note to ask later.

There was also another girl, tall and stiff with hair so long it almost touched the ground when she was sitting down. Her hair was a color that Aang had never seen before, a kind of yellow that he didn't know could even be associated with hair. It contrasted her burgundy robes, long and flowing and very similar to one of the dancer's. He thought she was very pretty, but she also had a hard glare that kind of scared him.

And then there was Megan. She was the only one who had actually introduced herself, and she was by far the most talkative. She'd made a point to speak with all of them, asking about where they were from and the places they'd seen; Aang had noticed how bouncy she was, full of energy and never standing still. That in itself wasn't really suspicious, but it was fun to watch. She kept running between the groups, asking Aang a question and then flitting over to the nomads and the running back to her friends, who were keeping to themselves and sitting closer to the riverbank.

He saw it when she was running; she almost floated, hovering in the air for a few extra seconds with each stride. She seemed to move faster than everyone else, and her movements were more fluid. It was something that only an airbender would be able to notice, and something that definitely pointed to Megan being another airbender.

Aang could tell that it was unconscious. Maybe she wasn't trained?

" _Or maybe,_ " the rational side of his brain (that sounded suspiciously like Sokka) interrupted, " _she isn't an airbender at all. So she jumps a little when she runs, that doesn't automatically make someone an airbender. There's no way to really know, and you shouldn't get your hopes up!_ " Well, whatever the case, he wanted to keep Megan and her unusual friends around. He had to know for sure.

Aang was interrupted from his musings by Sokka stomping over to them, and he took it as a welcome distraction.

"Hey, Sokka! You should listen to some of these guy's stories. They've been everywhere!" Chong stopped his absentminded strumming, looking up from where he was lounging.

"Weh-hell, not everywhere, little arrowhead. But where we haven't been, we've heard about through stories and songs."

"They said they'll take us to see a giant nightcrawler!" Aang explained excitedly.

"On the way, there's a waterfall that creates a never-ending rainbow!" Moku rolled over onto his back, whimsically waving his hands in the air.

"Look, I hate to be the wet blanket here, but since Katara is busy I guess it's up to me." Raquel laughed at Katara's offended expression from her spot by the river, and Artemis looked up from her idle conversation. "We need to get to Omashu. No sidetracks, no worms, and _definitely_ no rainbows." Chong looked up at him, bewildered.

"Wow, sounds like someone has a case of destination fever." He chuckled. "You're worried too much about where you're going."

"You got to focus less on the _where_ and more on the _going,_ " Lily cut in, gesturing widely. Sokka looked like he was about to have a stroke.

"O. Ma. Shu!" he shouted. At this Artemis tuned out again, whispering quietly with her companions.

"We should try hitching a ride with these people," she suggested, pointing at them with her chin. "They seem to be a lot more efficient than Chong and his merry band of misfits."

"I'm not so sure," Raquel said, eyeing them warily. "We just met them, and how do we know that they aren't worse off than the nomads? I think it'd be safer if we just stick with what we know, even if it means putting up with these morons for a few more days." Megan was idly nodding along, her attention fixed on the strangers. She mumbled something about how they seemed nice but didn't input anything else; Raquel and Artemis weren't sure what to think.

The sounds of strumming floated over to them once again, and Artemis pursed her lips. What were they doing now?

"Two lovers, forbidden from one another, the war divides their people, and the mountain divides them apart! Built a path to be together!" Artemis ignored the rest, but Megan and Raquel listened on curiously. The archer'd had enough for one day.

Chong muttered something they couldn't hear from where they were sitting before continuing with gusto, "Secret tunnel! Secret tunnel! Through the mountains, secret, secret, secret, secret tunnel, yeah!" He collapsed back against the sky bison's legs, and the rest of the group lulled back into idle conversation. Artemis shot Raquel a look.

"Tell me again why we can't just ditch them?"

* * *

Zuko was notoriously bad at fishing, and Dick found it hilarious.

Together the three of them were able to catch a decent pile, definitely enough for dinner, though Zuko had only really contributed one or two fish altogether. He was a master at spearing very small, very inedible fish, though Iroh's calm advice (and his general ability to diffuse his nephew's tantrums) did lead to the younger man to have a few good catches.

Iron was an excellent cook; Dick could compare the quality of the cooked fish to that of Alfred's professionally prepared dinners, and _that_ was saying something.

Dick zoned out, chewing absently on his fish and sitting across from his travel companions. He started thinking about Alfred back at the manor, thinking of the seemingly mundane things that Dick hadn't realized he would so dearly miss. One thought led to another– was his family okay? What about his friends, Wally and Barbara and the rest of them? Were they worried about his disappearance? Would he ever find his way back to them?– and a foreboding sense of permanence settled over him. He didn't want to lose his family again.

The thought left him feeling hollow, his heart heavy and his stomach tossing too much to consider finishing his fish. He forced himself to keep eating, not realizing that Zuko was staring at him.

Iroh looked at the boy sitting on the other side of the fire, following his nephew's gaze. Tears were slowly streaming down Dick's face, and he was making no action to cover it up.

"Are you alright, Dick?" Iroh asked slowly, shifting as if he was about to stand up. Dick looked up at him, and shook his head dismissively.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine... The fish is just really good."

* * *

Megan wasn't entirely sure how they ended up at the cave. All she knew was that the not-really-river people she'd met earlier had appeared again, looking tired and scorched, and... _requested_ that the nomads show them the Cave of Two Lovers.

"Alright, secret love cave, let's go," Sokka had said, his exhausted companions following behind them.

And somehow, that's exactly where they'd ended up.

"How far are we from the tunnel?" Sokka asked, his voice echoing throughout the valley. He was in the lead of the growing group of travellers, just itching to get to Omashu. Megan was the farthest back, taking every opportunity to pet and play with the giant sky bison that was now accompanying them.

"Actually it's not just one tunnel," Chong replied. "The lovers didn't want anyone to find out about their love, so they built a whole labyrinth!" Sokka stopped abruptly, preemptively panicking.

"LABYRINTH?"

"I'm sure we'll figure it out!" Chong was as optimistic as ever.

"All you need to do is trust in love," Lily said, before hesitantly adding, "according to the curse." At her words, Sokka froze in his tracks and stared straight ahead of him. The rest of the party passed him, but Megan stopped beside him to see if he was alright.

"Um, are you o–" She was cut off by his violent outburst of spasms and growling, before he stood up normally again and whined,

" _Curse!_ " Megan put her hand on his shoulder and smiled in what she hoped was a comforting way, but Sokka didn't seem to care much for the gesture, brushing her hand away.

The party walked in comfortable silence for a bit, until they stood in front of the looming cave entrance; no one could see very far into the darkness past the mouth, save for the statues of armored men that stood up against the walls.

"Hey-hey! We're here!" Chong called. Everyone stopped behind him, and Megan decided to move away from Appa to stand next to Artemis and Raquel.

Artemis was glaring at the cave, trying to analyze as much about the situation as she could before they actually entered. She stopped momentarily to shoot a glance at Megan, and the Martian took that as a signal to open the mind link.

"What exactly is this curse?" Sokka asked. He was looking at the inscription carved above the cave opening; it looked to be in some sort of Asian language, but Megan couldn't read it.

"The curse says that only those who trust in love can make it through the caves. Otherwise, you'll be trapped in them forever," Chong explained, seemingly unconcerned.

"And die," Lily cut in.

"Oh yeah, and die." Chong lit up, smiling and holding a finger in the air. "Hey, I just remembered the rest of that song!" He stood before the cave opening and made a dramatic pose, violently striking a chord on his lute. "And die!"

"That's it! There's no way we're going through some cursed hole!" Sokka cried out.

" _I have to agree with Ponytail,_ " Raquel said over the mind link. Artemis nodded, still taking in the details of the cave.

" _Yeah, this seems a bit_ too _sketchy. Megan, get ready to wipe everyone's memories, they don't need to–_ "

Artemis was interrupted when Moku turned away from the group to look at the horizon, shouting,

"Hey, someone's making a big campfire!" Everyone followed his gaze, and at the sight of the rising column of smoke the air turned grim.

"That's no campfire, Moku," Katara said darkly.

"It's Fire Nation. They're tracking us." Sokka seemed exhausted when he said this, and Megan couldn't help but wonder what the Fire Nation was, and what exactly they had done; she could easily take the information from the people around her, but she didn't want to invade their privacy.

"So all you need to do is trust in love to get through these caves?" Aang asked, turning from the smoke in the distance to face Chong.

"That is correct, Master Arrowhead."

" _Alright,_ " Artemis started. " _Do we actually believe in this? We're on a whole other planet so the magic rules might be completely different. Do we risk dying in the love cave, or do we ditch them now and try and make it past the Fire Nation people?_ "

" _We don't know what the Fire Nation even is, or why they're after these kids. They could be harmless, but judging by everyone else's reactions, I don't want to take that chance,_ " Raquel thought.

" _If they're violent we could probably take them,_ " Artemis countered. In truth, she wasn't too keen on confrontation, but she wanted to put all of their cards on the table.

" _They're called the Fire Nation, aren't they? If they can do anything like waterbending, but with fire, they could take Megan out of easily, and you only have that dinky crossbow! I don't think it's a good idea._ "

Artemis looked over at Megan, who was focused on Aang. The young boy was staring wistfully at Katara's back, and the adoration in his eyes made Megan smile.

"We can make it," Aang said, turning towards the rest of the party with a determined look in his eye.

" _Any final protests?_ " Raquel asked, raising her hands in some kind of panicked shrug. No one had anything to say.

"Everyone into the hole!" Sokka commanded, waving towards the cave. Everyone began to file in, Chong leading the way and Appa bringing up the rear.

It was barely a minute before the party could feel a vague rumbling beneath their feet. Megan could feel apprehension rolling off of their newest companions even without her telepathy, and she found herself having to concentrate on ignoring the thoughts they were projecting.

The rumbling stopped, and Sokka tried to wave the group on, wanting to get as far away from the entrance as he could.

They had just begun to round the bend when there was a massive crash, and they were abruptly cut off from the sunlight. Enormous boulders fell from the ceiling, blocking their entrance and kicking up a storm of dust.

Amidst the shouts and coughs, Megan felt the subtle rumbling start up, and then fade away; their attackers were retreating, and they were trapped.


End file.
